Black, Blue, and Ornery: NFC North News for January 2nd, 2013

Happy New Year from your friends at the Water Cooler Sports Network! The coming months will bring a lot of changes to our site — some obvious, some subtle — but one thing that won’t change is our dedication to bringing you NFC North News. Here is your first installment of Black, Blue, and Ornery of 2013 on this frigid but sparkling clear January 2nd.

Professional ballroom dancer and Dancing with the Stars regular Karina Smirnoff turns 35 today.

If you’re wondering what kind of person would celebrate a birthday on the second day of the year, the answer is someone like actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. (45), actress Kate Bosworth (30), disgraced PTL minister Jim Bakker (73), and House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert (71). Conservative icon Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) was also born on this date. Now that’s a motley crew if I ever saw one.

And speaking of motley crews, here’s a collection of news stories about the Black and Blue Division.

NFC North News

Show me the links!

Detroit Lions

In case you’ve been wondering what is going to happen to the Detroit Lions roster after their disastrous 0-8 finish to the 2012 season, Tim Twentyman over at the team’s flagship site has some answers. It turns out that 25 players in total will be free agents, including 22 unrestricted free agents. Logic would dictate the roster will look much different on opening day 2013 than it does right now.

I won’t belabor all the details Twentyman goes into, but I will give a few highlights.

He points out that Detroit has a solid core of talent in place, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Cavin Johnson, and defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. (Now if only the coaching staff could find a way to weave these talents into a functional team – but that’s my editorial comment, not his.) The front office is going to have to restructure some of these expensive contracts to keep these players around, but that nucleus alone is more talent than some teams have on their entire roster.

More problematic are units like the offensive line, which, despite only giving up 29 sacks last season (9th in the league), could field four new starters in 2013. The secondary, decimated by injury all year, could be losing its top two starters, cornerback Chris Houston and safety Louis Delmas, to free agency. Much of the promising young backups on the defensive line could walk in the offseason too.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter how much talent is on the field if the pieces don’t fit together into a cohesive whole. And that will be the real question hanging over this organization’s head as they retool for the coming season: Can they find some way to defeat the culture of losing that has plagued Detroit for so many years and forge themselves into a true team?

Money is no object for Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery as he searches for a new head coach.

Chicago Bears

It wasn’t easy, but Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey decided it was the right thing to do. He called head coach Lovie Smith into his office and, struggling to keep his emotions in check, informed him that his tenure in Chicago was over. He claims not to regret bringing Smith back for another season, but it just didn’t work out the way everyone had hoped. Now the organization must find a way to move beyond the coach who took them to an 81-63 record, three NFC North championships, and an NFC championship.

Expressing confidence in both his general manager Phil Emery and his starting quarterback Jay Cutler (“the most talented quarterback the Bears have had here in the last 60 years”), McCaskey says that the team will not be deterred by matters of expense. In other words, money is no object, and they will not hesitate to look at expensive coaches.

Chicago has never been known as a team with the most generous of pocketbooks — although their pockets do seem to have gotten looser under Emery — so it will be interesting to see how they define “expensive” in this case. Even more intriguing will be seeing whether they continue to pursue a defensive-minded head coach, or whether they bring in a more offensive-oriented coach to harness the talents of Cutler, wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and running back Matt Forte.

In any case, a breakup is never fun, and we wish the Bears all the best in their quest for love. It’s just too bad that, as it turns out, Lovie is not all you need.

Minnesota Vikings

This time of year, everyone is feeling a little beat up, but veterans learn how to play through it. Sometimes, though, a player has to be willing to fight another day. That is what happened to Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, as he was forced to leave the game with swelling in his fractured hand.

Winfield appeared to be in a great deal of pain Sunday, leaving after only 18 snaps, so it’s not clear if he’ll be on the field for the playoff rematch at Lambeau Field Saturday night. If he does play, he will likely be fitted with a large, soft protective cast. Should he not be able to answer the bell, it would be a serious blow for Minnesota’s already depleted secondary, which gave up a lot of yards and a long scoring play to quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week.

After an injury-shortened 2011 season, the 35-year-old Winfield has been a rock this season. It would be unfortunate if he were not able to partake in playoff action with his team, so we wish him a speedy and thorough recovery.

Green Bay Packers

It’s doubtful there is a player who hates watching the action from the sidelines more than Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson.

The long-awaited moment has finally arrived: Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson has been cleared to play against the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs. Apparently, Woodson was physically ready to go as far back as Week 14, but the Packers elected to exercise an abundance of caution with the veteran, who has battled some significant injuries in recent years.

It’s not clear if Woodson will be starting Saturday night or if he’ll be used more as an experienced backup in case one of the promising young defensive backs gets hurt. Considering the fact that (up until last week against Minnesota, at least), the unit had been having an excellent season, the latter seems the more prudent option. The last thing a coach would want to do is experiment with chemistry during the playoffs. Nevertheless, if the secondary struggles once more against the Vikings offense, the coaching staff might be forced to resort to the wily veteran, who has the ability to anticipate plays and make spectacular breakups, but also has been known to gamble at the wrong time and give up a huge gain.

The unfortunate reality is that the NFL season is a war of attrition. It’s encouraging that the Packers are getting healthy in time for the postseason, although wide receiver Jordy Nelson was held out of practice yet again with a knee injury. Now the young players have to avoid the temptation to get cocky and play the solid, fundamental brand of football that has brought them this far.